In a Knot
by oldhokages
Summary: It was common knowledge that a tangle with the Copy Ninja wouldn't have any strings attached, mostly because it was also common knowledge that he wasn't working with any strings in the first place.


**In a Knot**

Weddings were festive events, but Hatake Kakashi was not feeling very celebratory.

He was feeling very drunk.

It wasn't an unpleasant experience of itself, though still one he tried to avoid. Wobbly legs were very unbecoming of a shinobi. Had he been sober he might have been embarrassed. Then again he was known to be quite shameless, so probably not.

There was music playing in the background, but that was expected; this was the reception of what Konoha had dubbed _the wedding of the century._ It was a stuffy title in Kakashi's opinion and decidedly false, but he didn't dare grumble his negativities. Not while everyone he knew whirled around the courtyard looking so devastatingly happy. Kakashi lifted his glass to his bare lips and downed more of the expensive liquor the bride's father provided. Hyuuga Hiashi didn't spare expenses, especially not on his oldest daughter's account.

He still found it strange that the wedding had even taken place. Sure, he had always known that that weird little Hyuuga girl had a crush on Naruto. He just didn't expect Naruto, who had always been oblivious to such affections, to suddenly reciprocate her feelings.

It probably had a thing or two to do with Sakura dumping him.

Still, getting married to the very next girl seemed a touch extreme if you asked Kakashi. Rebounds Kakashi understood; he was by far the rebound of choice in his day. Something about a man who would fuck you without ever showing you his face was just irresistibly attractive to the vulnerable ladies who sought him after their heartbreaks. It was common knowledge that a tangle with the Copy Ninja wouldn't have any strings attached, mostly because it was also common knowledge that he wasn't working with any strings in the first place. He hadn't been in a meaningful relationship since he was fifteen and since it was arguable that no fifteen year old had been in a meaningful relationship ever, it was equally possible he had never been in one at all.

Huh. He'd drink to that... except his cup was empty.

To the bar!

Kakashi snapped his mask back into place. He had every intention of ordering his drink and retreating back across the courtyard to his table, but it when he had wobbled half the way his quiet corner was usurped by a very questionable looking Konohamaru and the bride's sister. He didn't notice until he was clutching his eighth gin and tonic and balefully spotted them. How dreadful; he would have to find a new place to park his rear and be a depressing drunk.

"You can sit here, Kakashi-san."

He slowly turned eye on the girl who had addressed him. For a moment he struggled to remember her name. She gestured at the empty seat beside her and shrugged. Despite the fact it was a bit too close to the festivities for his tastes, Kakashi sat.

"Hullo, Tenten." He drank through his mask and remarked, "Nice wedding, hm?"

Tenten fingered the rim of her glass. "Sure."

"You don't like weddings, Tenten?"

"I guess not."

Well, that was unexpected. Kakashi was under the impression that girls lived for events like this. When they weren't planning their own they were planning each others' because it was the day they all dreamed of since they were old enough to be trained to fit into society's expectations of them, right? Something like that. He watched as Tenten sipped her drink and was alarmed to see it was neither girly nor frilly but was instead very brown and full of calories and probably putting hair on her chest. He wondered idly how many she had already had.

"I don't like them very much either," he admitted slowly.

Tenten eyeballed him warily, as if daring him to get touchy-feely with her when she was _clearly_ trying her best not to have emotions at all.

"They're boring," he clarified.

Tenten dropped her gaze. "Yeah."

She looked like she was struggling with herself, so Kakashi looked away. His roving eye lingered on his former table where Konohamaru had his tongue in Hanabi's ear. Beneath his mask he scowled. That was his table at they had no right to defile it like that.

"Neji didn't like weddings, either."

Oh no.

"We... we were going to elope."

_Shit._

"He thought Hiashi-san would have to accept it that way... he never liked me very much."

"Um..."

"I-I miss him, Kakashi-san."

There was a horrible moment where Kakashi just knew she was going to cry, but it passed as quickly as it came. Tenten settled back into a careful facade of stoicism and for lack of knowing what else to do, Kakashi hastily downed his drink in one go.

"What are you having?" he asked her, gesturing vaguely at her emptying glass.

"Bourbon," she said simply. "On the rocks."

"You need another."

He got it for her, and one for himself. It was a good thing too because by the time he returned to their table, Tenten's initial glass truly was empty and she was staring forlornly around her. He heaved a sigh, sitting and passing her drink over, not even noticing when their fingers brushed as she accepted it.

"Thank you, Kakashi-san."

"No problem."

His voice was trailing off, as if his tongue was forgetting how to finish off words, but it didn't matter because they were quiet after that. Kakashi took it easy on this drink because he recognized that if he wanted to be getting home with even a scrap of dignity, it was time to cut himself off. Around them the party continued but Tenten and Kakashi were stagnant. There was a brief moment of mild amusement when Hiashi discovered what Konohamaru was up to with his daughter, and Naruto swung by once dragging Hinata by the hand to thank him 'for actually showing up.' His former student was extremely red in the face and Kakashi sniggered a little, fairly certain that Naruto was going to have a hard time consummating his marriage.

Or a not so hard time. Either way.

When the party finally began to wind down, Tenten stood on remarkably steady feet.

"I'm going home," she told him.

"Alright," he replied. She looked pretty, he belatedly realized, with her hair down for the first time since he had known her and dressed in a red qipao that tightened exquisitely around all the right curves. Kakashi felt the sudden urge to compliment her about it and quickly bit his tongue. Tenten tucked a lock of long brown hair behind her ear.

"Walk me home?"

"Alright," he repeated. The word left his lips without a thought.

He followed her lead because he had no idea where she lived. They stumbled away from the stiflingly traditional Hyuuga compound together and into the cool night. When Tenten shivered and drew her arms close, Kakashi took the liberty of throwing an arm around her shoulders. It was to keep her warm and had nothing to do with keeping steady, of course. It always took him until he was wasted to remember that he was a messy drunk, which was why he didn't drink. His feet felt like lead and his head felt like a cloud, but Tenten smelled like cinnamon and apples and dare he say it she _giggled_ when he told her his lamest joke. Something about the moon and a man made of cheese... he wasn't really sure if he told it right.

It turned out Tenten lived on a narrow street not all that far from his own where everyone seemed to care a whole lot more about their window boxes and gardens. He was just beginning to scan the perimeter for the least cared for patch of tilled earth to relieve his stomach if it came to that when they came to a halt at the door to her building.

"Thank you, Kakashi-san," Tenten said politely, extracting herself from beneath his arm.

To his credit, Kakashi didn't sway.

"You're welcome"

He did nearly lose his footing when she snatched his mask down and kissed him, though.

She didn't taste a thing like apples _or_ cinnamon and Kakashi was mildly disappointed. Instead she tasted like whiskey with only the barest hint of femininity underneath, but it didn't put him off. Contrary, Kakashi was instantly drawn in. He was aware of her arms rising to rest over his shoulders, her thumb trailing at the nape of his neck and slowly he reached for her hips. It was just instinctual, he told himself as she plied her mouth against his. Her tongue tapped at his lower lip and eagerly he complied.

But she pulled away. "Come up," she whispered.

Her eyes looked glossy and Kakashi wondered if his matched.

For the third time that night he replied, "Alright."

Tenten's apartment was only on the second floor, which was a small mercy since even one flight of stairs was a hassle. She held him by the hand as she produced her key – from her cleavage, he noted – and pulled him inside, flicking on the light. Politely he took off his shoes and gloves, placing them on the rack where Tenten put hers. After that he stood in her living room sheepish and maskless, unsure of exactly what he should do and questioning his choices that led him there.

"Do you want to leave?" she asked him before she locked the door back. Her voice wavered.

He was counting the weapons scattered on her coffee table. "Hmmm... no."

She turned the lock.

"I don't think I could handle the staircase on my own."

Tenten laughed and took his hand again, pulling him down the darkened hall. She didn't try to lace her fingers with his, so Kakashi did it for her. If Tenten was going after him, she could at least make a good show of it. Tenten didn't seem to get the memo, though, because once inside her bedroom she released his hand and made quick work of stripping out of her dress. Only Hatake Kakashi would frown at a stripping girl, but that was precisely his response.

"Wait," he insisted, stopping her from simply yanking the dress down from her hips. Tenten froze; he supposed he had embarrassed her. To soothe it over, he softly called, "Come here."

The room was dark and the small window didn't afford very much moonlight aside from the faint square that painted the bed, but Kakashi could still make out her shape and like most kunoichi, it was admirable. When she didn't come towards him like he wished he approached her instead, crashing his lips into hers with a clumsiness that normally would have left him feeling quite ashamed of his performance. Maybe his depth perception was a little off he decided when their teeth clinked, but it didn't matter. He quickly adjusted for the discrepancy, winding a hand in her hair and tugging her dress lazily with the other. Undressing was not something to be done matter-of-fact and without a whole lot of gasping and moaning, and he wasn't going to allow Tenten to approach it so methodically. When the dress finally fell to the floor, Kakashi unzipped his vest and shrugged out of it, dropping it and steering Tenten towards the moonlit bed.

…where he promptly fell down on top of her.

So he wasn't exactly a casanova when he was intoxicated – he doubted that was why Tenten wanted him anyway. Kakashi came with no strings attached, and judging by Tenten's strong assertions about missing Neji, she was just a little bit behind on her rebound.

"Ow," Tenten joked, squirming under him. Kakashi told her to hush and kissed her.

Now that he knew what to expect, he relished the liquor on her tongue. It made things easy, made them simple. Neither of them would have to be embarrassed come the morning. They could just blame the poison and move right along, as if their paths hadn't crossed at all. But they were crossing and tangling and knotting, definitively and without question. He trailed kisses down her jaw and fumbled with the clasp of her bra, shifting so that she could extract herself from the garment fully and toss it to the floor then grabbing her wrists once her breasts were exposed to the cool night air. Kakashi pinned her arms by her head and placed a small bite to her neck, reveling in the groan that passed her lips. It was probably fake but he didn't care, turning his attention to her hardening nipples instead, taking one into his mouth and flicking his tongue.

The effect was instantaneous. Tenten began to writhe.

She wrenched her arms free of his grasp and twisted her fingers into his hair while he grasped the other breast, rolling the nipple in his fingers as he grazed the one in his mouth over with his teeth. Tenten gasped and pulled while Kakashi smirked against her skin. _Too easy, too easy_... he used his knee to part her thighs and released her breasts, pulling himself up to strip out of his shirt and his vest. Kakashi was juvenilely pleased when Tenten eyed him with unchecked admiration. The more narcissistic side of Kakashi told him not to question it, that moonlight had always suited him with his pale skin and snowy hair. The more rational part of him said this was a drunk girl and judging by the wet and heat seeping through her panties to accost his knee, she would find _anyone_ hovering over her a worthy sight.

Tenten reached up to touch him and the first thing he noticed was that her hands were really quite small, then that they were quite cold sliding across the sinewy plane of his abs until her fingers curled into the waistband of his pants. When she pushed him he tottered easily to his side, falling with a slight _oof_ but smiling like a devil when she straddled him. She ground her hips into his and Kakashi groaned without hesitation. Alcohol had always made him a very vocal partner, especially when he was aroused and if Tenten's pleasant little grin was an indication she was very aware of just how aroused he was. She leant forward and kissed him as he had her, laying a line of kisses straight down from his lips to his collarbone and across his stomach. Her cold little hands pulled down his pants and for a brief moment he was concerned that she was going to wrap them around his dick, but instead when she slid his boxers away she paused as if examining what she saw. Kakashi looked down, too. He didn't have anything to be shameful of – roughly seven inches at full attention; he was on the bigger side of average and currently, he was decorated with a shimmery little bead of precum just there, on the tip. Tenten licked it off.

Then she took him wholly into her mouth.

Surprise lit into Kakashi and he lifted his hips, hissing as Tenten's nose pressed against the coarse hairs at his base. He hadn't expected that, certainly not. She slid up, grasping him with hands that had mercifully warmed and swirled her tongue about the tip, searching for eye contact as she did. Kakashi's breath hitched when she found it. He fought back the urge to hold her down and fuck her skull. He'd never done well with blowjobs...

"Tenten," he breathed. His fingers were knotted in her bedsheets.

She seemed to giggle and ducked her head up and down a few more times before removing her mouth with a lewd plop, wiggling out of her panties until they hung from one of her ankles and arranging herself atop of him. Kakashi was fixated on her lips now but gathered thoughts enough to protest when she made to guide him to her entrance.

"Tenten," he said hoarsely, "I need a..."

Her voice was husky, "Shut up. I'm on the injection."

He didn't argue, but he did cry out when she plunged herself downward until she was seated fully against him. Hadn't he been in control of this not ten minutes ago? His hands clung to her hips as he forcibly urged her to roll them just the way he liked. There was no finesse here. She was so _wet_. And what for? He'd hardly done anything at all...

Tenten rode him hard, bouncing herself on his cock and grabbing at her own breasts. In the moonlight she was beautiful, but that was trivial. Unimportant. What mattered to Kakashi was... well, what didn't matter? His face pinched with both pleasure and... mild nausea, but he focused on the ascent and approaching crescendo, thrusting upward to meet her. He wanted to last but everything was working against him. The gin and bourbon in his blood, the position, the lack of latex between their skin. Tenten was crying out and her muscles were spasming around him, but Kakashi knew when he was being treated to a fake orgasm. He just didn't care – it didn't make his own climax any less real. Grunting and bucking, he tried to push Tenten off of him when he came. Injection or not, he had a rule about orgasming inside of a woman.

The rule was_ don't_.

She crumpled beside him and dabs of white spattered across Kakashi's chest. Tenten's panties had fallen off her ankle by his hip and he used them to clean up, throwing them to the floor when he finished. Tenten was making little mewling noises while he adjusted his trousers and he rolled over, thinking maybe she would afford him a cuddle since he really, really wasn't above admitting he liked a post-coital snuggle. The thought flew from his foggy mind the moment he saw her tears. At first he thought he had hurt her in his haste to fling her off of him. His apology was already on his lips but it died when he heard the name Neji on hers.

Tenten was crying over a dead man and Kakashi pitied her, tucking her under her blankets and turning away. He stood and wobbled for a moment before reaching for his discarded clothes, yanking on his vest when he found it. Maybe once she had been firmly anchored to Neji but now she was drifting and soon, very soon, she would be lost. That was how it happened. First you're tied up in a knot with someone else. Secure. Then they're gone, and you become a heap of tangled strings without ends. After that you shed them entirely and become the same type of creature he already was. Blearily Kakashi adjusted his mask into place. It felt tight on his kiss swollen lips and when he ran his fingers over them, he frowned. He... he didn't want Tenten to be like him, and leaving her like that would only hasten the process He dropped his shirt back to the floor and wordlessly lifted the blankets to lay back down beside her. It didn't take much for her to allow him to hold her and soon she was weeping over his chest.

"It's okay, Tenten," he said. His voice sounded faraway and alien in his own ears.

She replied in despair, "It's not."

"No," he agreed. "It probably isn't."

Kakashi couldn't find sense in lying to make her feel better.

She sniffled in his arms. "It's not okay for you either, is it?"

"No," he admitted softly. "It's not."

"For how long?"

"Quite a while."

"That... that's not a lot to look forward to," she said defeatedly.

Kakashi squeezed her tight. "Don't worry about it now. Just... go to sleep. It'll be better in the morning."

"Okay?" she asked hopefully.

He didn't budge into wistful hope with her. "Better," he repeated.

A sigh left her lips and Tenten's breathing slowly evened. Kakashi followed quickly, nodding off into a deep sleep with her tucked neatly at his side. When they woke neither would be aware yet of the faint thread that had harrowed itself into existence between them.

It would tie them in a knot.


End file.
